Not to be confused with sherif or sharif. For other uses, see Sheriff (disambiguation).In principle, a sheriff is a legal official with responsibility for a "shire", i.e. county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country. In Scotland, sheriffs are judges. A sheriff (or High sheriff) is a ceremonial county or city official in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and India.